Federal Courts, Empty Benches: The Wednesday Vacancy Count 4/13/2011
April 13, 2011
By Joshua Meyer-Gutbrod
- For a District by District break down, see: Federal Court Vacancy Warning System
The current vacancy warning level for the U.S. Federal courts is set at Yellow and is unchanged from last week. Approximately 10.5% of the total Article III posts are currently left unfilled. The vacancy information for the various court levels is as follows:
| Key: | |
| (Percentage of seats vacant.) | |
| 0% | 1%-9% |
| 10%-24% | 25%-40% |
| More than 40% | |
| Supreme Court | 0% or no vacancies |
| Appeals Courts | 9% or 17 vacancies |
| District Courts | 10.9% or 74 vacancies |
There are currently 9 Supreme Court posts, 179 appellate court posts and 680 district court posts for a total of 868 Article III judges. This count includes three temporary posts, one each in the Northern District of Alabama, District of Arizona, and the Central District of California. There are currently 49 pending appointments in the Senate leaving 47% of the vacant posts without an appointment. So far this year there have been 17 confirmations.
Confirmations
Yesterday, April 12 the Senate confirmed two additional candidates to the federal judiciary. John A. Kronstadt was confirmed to the Central District of California and Vincent L. Briccetti was confirmed to the Southern District of New York. The two confirmations kept the vacancy level of the courts even, offsetting the transition of two judges to senior status.
Central District of California
John A. Kronstadt was confirmed to the Central District of California by a Senate vote of 96-0. He was originally appointed on November 17, 2010 by Barack Obama to a seat which had been vacant since Florence-Marie Cooper passed away on January 15, 2010.[1] The confirmation lowered the vacancy warning level of the district from Yellow to Blue.
Southern District of New York
Vincent L. Briccetti was confirmed by the U.S. by a voice vote to fill a seat on the Southern District of New York. Briccetti was originally appointed on November 17, 2010 by Barack Obama to a seat vacated when Kimba Wood transitioned to senior status on June 1, 2009.[2] The confirmation did not change the vacancy warning level of the district from orange, but reduced the percentage of vacant posts from 32% to 29%.
Senior status
Two judges on the court in the Eastern District of New York assumed senior status early this month. Raymond Dearie assumed senior status on April 3, 2011, vacating the chief justice position, and Allyne Ross assumed senior status on April 5, 2011. The transitions raise the vacancy warning level of the district from Blue to Yellow.
Fresh nominations
Last Wednesday, April 6, President Obama submitted two additional nominations to the Senate Judiciary committee. The nominations, if confirmed, would fill critical vacancies in the District of Alaska and Western District of Arkansas lowering both districts from Orange to Green by filling all three posts in each district.
District of Alaska
President Obama nominated Sharon Gleason to the vacant post for the District of Alaska. The post has been vacant for less than a month, with the transition of John Sedwick to senior status on March 13, 2011.[3] Gleason earned her bachelor's in 1979 from Washington University in St. Louis and her J.D. from University of California Davis Law in 1983. She is currently a judge on the Third Judicial District Superior Court in Anchorage, Alaska.[4]
Western District of Arkansas
President Obama nominated Susan Hickey to the vacant post for the Western District of Arkansas. The post has been vacant for three years, with the transition of Harry Barnes to senior status on October 31, 2008.[5] Hickey earned her bachelor's and J.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1977 and 1980 respectively. She is currently a judge on the Arkansas 13th Judicial Circuit.[6]
Senate hearings and meetings
April 7, 2011
The Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business hearing on April 7, 2011 to consider and report judicial candidates to the Senate as a whole for confirmation. The Committee reported four candidates by voice vote including, Esther Salas (District of New Jersey), J. Paul Oetken (Southern District of New York), Paul A. Engelmayer (Southern District of New York) and Ramona V. Manglona (United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands). However the most interesting story out of the hearing was the Committee’s decision to report Goodwin Liu with a vote of 10-8. Liu has been rejected by the committee twice and his nomination has been resubmitted by the president every time. Liu’s nomination is controversial due to his stance on abortion and Senior Committee Republican Chuck Grassley has promised a filibuster when the nomination goes before the entire senate.[7][8]
April 13, 2011
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled hearings for April 13, 2011 for the following judicial nominees:
- Henry Floyd, Fourth Circuit
- Nelva Gonzales Ramos, Southern District of Texas
- Richard Brooke Jackson, District of Colorado
- Sara Lynn Darrow, Central District of Illinois
More to follow on these hearings next week!
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "112th Congress Confirmations," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "112th Congress Confirmations," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ US Courts, current vacancies
- ↑ President Obama Nominates Two to the United States District Court, 4/6/2011
- ↑ US Courts, current vacancies
- ↑ President Obama Nominates Two to the United States District Court, 4/6/2011
- ↑ Life News.com, “Senate Judiciary Approves Pro-Abortion Goodwin Liu Nomination” 4/8/2011
- ↑ Senate Judiciary Committee, "Executive Business Meeting," April 7, 2011
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